Door-catch.



vP. P. SHONKA.

DOOR CATCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1909.

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dbkwmb Patented Mar. 22, 1910 ILDAUL P S UNTE STA ES FFTCE.

PAUL P. SHONKA, OF FAIRFAX, IOWA.

DOOR-CATCH.

Application filed. August 26, 1909.

Specification of Letters Patent.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, PAUL P. SI-IONKA, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fairfax, in the county of Linn, State of Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Door-Catches; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to door catches, and has for one of its objectsto improve the construction and increase the efliciency and utility ofdevices of this character.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction as hereafter shown and described and thenspecifically pointed out in the claim, and in the drawings illustrativeof the preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a sectionalview of a door and its jamb, with the improved device applied. Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1; with the door in section.

My improved door catch may be used in connection with any ordinary doorand its jamb and for the purposes of this specification is shown inconnection with a door indicated at 10 and the jamb indicated at 11.

Mounted to swing from the door is a latch device 12 having a barbedterminal 13, and inserted into the jamb is a keeper, here shown as astaple 1st through which the barbed portion 13 of the latch passes whenthe door is closed, the barbed portion of the latch 13 automaticallyengaging with the keeper staple and locking the door in closed position.

Mounted to swing at 15 upon the jamb 11 is a releasing arm 16 having arecess 17, the arm extending beyond the jamb adjacent to the door 10 andterminating in a hand grip 18. -The member 16 is provided with a spring19 operating to maintain it yieldably in its inoperative position. Thearm 16 is so arranged that the point 20 thereof adjacent to the recess17 comes oppositethe barbed portion 13 of the latch, but will be held bythe spring 19 out of engagement with the latch.

The latch member 12-13 will be released manually from the inside, butwhen the door is to be released from the opposite side, the operatordepresses the member 16 by pressure applied to the hand grip 18, whichmovement causes the point 20 to depress the latch 12 by engagement withits barbed portion 13 and thus releases the latch from the staple, andpermits the door to be opened. When the member 16 is depressed, therecess 17 passes over the staple 14;, without engagement therewith, thisbeing the object of the recess, as will be obvious.

The improved device is simple in construction, can be applied, as abovestated, to doors of various forms and sizes without material structuralchanges.

The parts of the improved device are entirely of metal, and can be madestrong and durable, and of any required size.

The member 12 is pivoted at 26 between the ears 21 connected to a faceplate 22, the latter attached to the outer face of the door 10 and theears entering a transverse cavity 23 which is formed through the door,as shown. Externally of the plate 22 the member 12 is curved downwardlyinto a grip handle 24, and maintained yieldably in one position by aspring 25 extending between the plate 22 and the handle portion 24, asshown, the lower end of the handle bearing on the plate and acting as astop. By this means the barbed terminal 13 of the member 12 ismaintained yieldably in one position and in engagement with the keeperstaple 14.

WVhat is claimed is The herein described door latch compris ing a platefor application to a door and having ears on its inner side to extendinto a transverse opening in the door, a latch member pivotally mountedbetween said ears, having an inwardly extended barbed arm and alsohaving an outwardly extending clown-curved handle portion, the lower endof which forms a stop to bear on said plate, a" spring connecting saidhandle portion of the latch and the said plate and normally maintainingthe latch in engaged position, a I said releasing arm out of engagementwith keeper for application to a jam'b and en- I the barb of the latch.10 gagement by the barb of the latch, a releas- In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature, ing arm having means for pivotally mount; x inpresence of two witnesses. ing it also on the jamb above the barb ofPAUL P. SHONKA. the latch, to release the latter from the keeper whensaid releasing arm is turned downwardly, and a spring normally raisinglVitnesses MARIE C. Noun, 1*). A. Fomn'erc.

